Homemade Salsa is garden fresh, full of delicious ripe tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, jalapeños, lime juice and cilantro. This salsa recipe is perfect for dunking a tortilla chip into or for use in recipes. Learn how to make salsa and be stunned at how easy it is!
Homemade Salsa-for a crowd!
Yesterday morning, on a whim, I decided to make a batch of salsa in my Instant Pot and photograph the process so I could finally write a post about it.
I was up really late the night before writing a couple of seriously delicious posts. I was praying that my children would somehow, magically, sleep in. HA
If you follow me on Instagram, you already know that didn’t happen. And the fact that I was at the grocery store (looking like a hot mess) by 9:00 am.
We were at the store so early for a couple of reasons, first because I had no flour in the house after my major pie baking day the day before. Second, because homemade salsa in my Instant Pot NEEDED to happen.
My 3 kids and I (pretty sure we look like a zoo everywhere we go!) gathered up everything we needed from the store, we were ready to check out, literally walking to the registers and then the dreaded announcement came on..
The credit card system was down. CASH ONLY. I never, ever, EVER keep cash on me. I’m seriously curious, does anyone keep cash on them these days?
Anyway, long story short, I ended up walking across the street to an ATM, chalking up the $3.00 fee as worth it if I didn’t have to unload my groceries, drive home, come back and shop again.. with my 3 kids.
Went back inside, paid with cash and promptly came home to get my salsa on! (Only to realize I forgot eggs…)
I came home, and thank you Instant Pot, I had delicious salsa 40 minutes later. That includes all of the prep work!!
One day, when I am no longer apartment living and have space for a garden, I’ll be able to just walk out back and gather the ingredients for this salsa!
I now have 5 beautiful jars of delicious homemade salsa that will probably be consumed a lot faster that it should be.
How to Make Salsa in the Instant Pot
This salsa recipe is a wonderful base for you to get your creative juices flowing with. The salsa is very mild. That is easily fixed by adding in more jalapeños and even leaving some seeds in if you like yours really spicy.
To cut down on the prep, I quartered everything and tossed them one at a time in my blender. I pulsed a few times to rounghly dice them.
I like using my blender or food processor not only because it saves SO much time, but because the juices actually make it into the salsa and not all over the counter.
After I pulsed the onion, bell pepper, jalapeño, and tomatoes, I tossed everything into the Instant Pot. (Find stove-top directions below.) I added a little vinegar, sugar and dried minced garlic.
You could definitely use fresh garlic, I just never have fresh garlic on hand and the minced garlic found in the spices isle at the grocery store works just as well, I think.
Give everything a good stir and then pressure cook on Manual HIGH for 20 minutes then quick release.
I quick release with no problems (i.e. no volcanos ?) but with anything that is liquid and is pretty full in the pot there is always a slight chance that the dreaded volcano will happen.
Either quick release and be ready to use the back of a long spoon to close the vent or NPR to insure that nothing goes spewing. Again, I QR with no problems.
After the salsa has been pressure cooked, add in some tomato paste, lime juice and cilantro. (I am not a huge cilantro fan, so you won’t see any in the salsa pictures. ?)
Cool to room temperature and then store in the fridge!
How to Make Salsa on the Stove Top
Follow all of the steps above in the Instant Pot directions until it comes to pressure cooking.
Instead of pressure cooking, simmer on the stove top for an hour. Stir every 5 minutes or so to insure the salsa does not burn.
After the salsa has simmered for an hour, add in the tomato paste, lime juice and cilantro.
Homemade Salsa
(Printable Recipe Below)
Homemade Salsa is garden fresh, full of delicious ripe tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, jalapeños, lime juice and cilantro. This salsa recipe is perfect for dunking a tortilla chip into or for use in recipes. Learn how to make salsa and be stunned at how easy it is!
Ingredients
- 1 large onion approx 2 cups
- 2 large green bell peppers approx 2 cups
- 4-8 jalapeños deseeded, depending on how spicy you want it!
- 10 large tomatoes approx 3 3/4 cups
- 2 tsp dried minced garlic can substitute 8 fresh cloves
- 1/2 cup vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 3 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- up to 1 bunch cilantro leaves torn up
Instructions
- Chop the onion, bell pepper, jalapeños and tomatoes one at a time in the blender or food processor. Alternatively, dice them by hand.
- Add the veggies, garlic, vinegar, sugar and salt to the Instant Pot.
- Pressure cook on Manual HIGH for 20 minutes. QR. *See note above in post about safely quick releasing the pressure.*
- Stir in the lime juice, tomato paste and cilantro.
- Ladle into jars and let the salsa cool to room temperature then store in the fridge.
- Stovetop Directions: Simmer the prepped veggies, vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt for 1 hour. Stir in the lime juice, tomato paste and cilantro. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate.
**If you prefer not to use tomato paste, you can simmer the salsa after pressure cooking to thicken it to your liking.
The salsa stays fresh in the fridge for 7-10 days.**
Love Salsa? I think you’ll love these recipes!
Creamy Salsa Chicken Dip
Chicken Fajitas
Cafe Rio Sweet Pork
I hope you enjoyed this recipe and my website!! I’d LOVE to hear from you! Comment below and find me across all social media platforms!
Homemade Salsa
Ingredients
- 1 large onion approx 2 cups
- 2 large green bell peppers approx 2 cups
- 4-8 jalapeños deseeded, depending on how spicy you want it!
- 10 large tomatoes approx 3 3/4 cups
- 2 tsp dried minced garlic can substitute 8 fresh cloves
- 1/2 cup vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 3 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- up to 1 bunch cilantro leaves torn up
Instructions
- Chop the onion, bell pepper, jalapeños and tomatoes one at a time in the blender or food processor. Alternatively, dice them by hand.
- Add the veggies, garlic, vinegar, sugar and salt to the Instant Pot.
- Pressure cook on Manual HIGH for 20 minutes. QR. *See note above in post about safely quick releasing the pressure.*
- Stir in the lime juice, tomato paste and cilantro.
- Ladle into jars and let the salsa cool to room temperature then store in the fridge.
- Stovetop Directions: Simmer the prepped veggies, vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt for 1 hour. Stir in the lime juice, tomato paste and cilantro. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate.
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Karen says
Do you peel your tomatoes? I’m not a big cilantro fan either, Do you think parsley would be an ok substitute?
karlibitner says
Hi Karen, I don’t peel the tomatoes at all. I’m not sure if parsley would taste good in the salsa. I just omit the cilantro all together in mine and love the results. ?
Jennifer says
How long does it last in the refrigerator?
karlibitner says
Hi Jennifer- this will last 7-10 days in the fridge. This recipe halves easily if needed! ?
Kathy Holub says
Sounds easy and delicious. What would you compare the consistency to? I’m wondering if you could just throw everything in whole and then use a stick blender after pressure cooking. Thanks!
karlibitner says
Hi Kathy! What a great thought! I would try quartering everything and then using the stick blender afterwards. You could control the consistency with how long you use the stick blender for. Hope this helps!
Ann says
Why is it on Facebook every one assumes you tweet, instant gram and all the other things the young people are using today? I see so many good recipes on Facebook that I would like to save
on my computer but on most of them there is no way to send them to email, they list about five or six other methods but exclude email, why is that. I have found a few places that include email but very few, and when I do it is so quick and easy to send a copy to myself. I wanted your salsa recipe but can not find a way to get it.
Thanks in advance for understanding the frustration of a senior citizen.
Ann
karlibitner says
Hi Ann! That is a wonderful suggestion. I will have to look into adding an email button for you. ? In the meantime, I’d be happy to email you this recipe. Send me a quick email to [email protected] and I’ll reply to that email with a copy of the recipe. ❤️ hope you have a wonderful day!
Marcie Stonerock says
Hi Ann. If the recipe you want has a “print” function you can print it, I have “cutewriter” installed on my computer. This prints in PDF form and you can save in a file and print at a later date if needed. Cutewriter is a free download. That is how I do all the recipes.
Good luck
Marcie
Maggie says
Can it be frozen?
karlibitner says
Hi Maggie! I haven’t ever tried freezing it, so I can’t say for sure. I assume it would freeze fine though. ?
Shannon says
This looks yummy !! Thank You for posting. 🙂
karlibitner says
Thanks for commenting, Shannon! Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Cindy Long says
We saw a fix for the dreaded volcano and it works!! Get a PVC elbow from the hardware store (I think it’s a 2 inch diameter) and put it over the pressure relief valve and when you turn to release the steam will shoot out of that away from under upper cabinets (as in my kitchen) and I aim it over the sink. I have never had an issue with over flow but I like this hack whenever I have to use QPR. Like when I do green beans for 1 minute.
Thank you for the salsa recipe. I’ll give it a try.
karlibitner says
What a great idea! Thanks, Cindy! Hope you love the recipe. ?
Allison says
I’m going to make this with fresh tomatoes from our neighbor’s garden…also, I feel a bond with you because I’m not a fan of cilantro either…haha! Thanks for the recipe!
karlibitner says
Glad I’m not the only Cilanto dis-liner! ? hope you love he salsa!
Sheryl says
Sounds yummy and easy! Can this be canned? Have you known anyone that has?
karlibitner says
Hi Sheryl- Great Question. I don’t know anyone that has and I haven’t ever gotten into canning (no storage space to keep anything that has been canned! One day, right?) I do know that with water bath canning the contents needs to be at a certain PH level in order for the food to be canned safely. I have not tested or measured the PH levels of this recipe, so I wouldn’t feel good about recommending this recipe for canning. Hope this helps explain things a bit!
Candice flammer says
Can this be canned in a water bath after?
karlibitner says
Hi Candice- Great Question. I don’t know anyone that has and I haven’t ever gotten into canning (no storage space to keep anything that has been canned! One day, right?) I do know that with water bath canning the contents needs to be at a certain PH level in order for the food to be canned safely. I have not tested or measured the PH levels of this recipe, so I wouldn’t feel good about recommending this recipe for canning. Hope this helps explain things a bit!
Amy says
I’ve canned lots of salsa in a water bath! You definitely can, esp between the tomato acid, lime juice, and vinegar!!. Half Pints in 15 min boiling water, pints in 20, quarts in 25.
karlibitner says
Thanks Amy!
Meg M says
Help! I made this tonight and it’s too acidic to eat. We made a double batch. The only thing we changed was to use half red tomatoes and half yellow tomatoes. Could that be the problem? What can I do to salvage it?
karlibitner says
Hi Meg! Using the yellow tomatoes may have been the problem. You’re the first to report the salsa being too acidic, so it seems that your tomatoes must have been extra acidic. A quick search says that adding a little bit of baking soda should neutralize the acidity. I would suggest trying a little bit in a small batch first. Another option would be to add a little more sugar to cut through the acidity. Hope this helps!
William says
Can the salsa be frozen.
karlibitner says
Yes!
William says
Thanks Only 2 of us and do not want t to go to waste.
Stacey T. says
The recipe says 10 large tomatoes or 3 and 3/4 cups. So what I did was measure out almost 4 cups (after chopping them up) and it only took about 6 small to medium tomatoes.
The result was that my salsa didn’t look as red as your photo. My resulting taste was also a bit on the sweet side.
So should I have used the 10 large tomatoes regardless of how many cups chopped up they equaled?
karlibitner says
Hi Stacey- the 3 3/4 cups of tomatoes is the measurement after they have been blended. Is that how you measured yours? Some tomatoes are definitely sweeter by nature than others. You can add lemon or lime juice to cut through the sweetness and balance it. Hope this helps!
Stacey T. says
I chopped the tomatoes more so than blended them. So maybe if I blended them smaller it would have taken closer to 10 large ones to equal almost 4 cups. OK thanks for replying, that helps.